Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

Isaiah, or prophets from the school of Isaiah, prophesied before and during the Babylonian exile. We’re all familiar with images and prophecies in Isaiah that refer to the birth of Christ. Here we’re going to take a flying visit through some other images and prophecies, familiar from our study of Revelation. 1.        Read Isaiah 1:18 Do you remember red being used a color to represent sin in Revelation? 2.        Read Isaiah 6:2 Do you remember any six-winged creatures in Revelation? Do you remember how many wings the cherubim had in Ezekiel? Do you think we need to work out the precise definitions of cherubim and seraphim? King Ahaz asks Isaiah for a sign and received the famous prophecy about the virgin and child in Isaiah 7 3.        Read Isaiah 11:1 How is Jesus described in Revelation 22:16? 4.        Read Isaiah 13:10, 22 Isaiah is prophesying against Babylon. Do the images sounds familiar from Revelation? (See Revelation 6:12-17, 19:1

Daniel may well have gone into exile before Ezekiel, brought to Babylon to be groomed as a future leader. At the beginning of the book we see him insisting on maintaining his Jewish traditions and faith, refusing to bow to foreign gods, and honored by God with good health, intelligence, the interpretation of dreams and protection from evildoers and lions. He becomes a powerful influence in the Babylonian court. Babylon falls in the time of Belshazzar when its leaders are too busy feasting to see the Medes and Persians attacking. 1.        Read Daniel 7:1-13 In Revelation 4:6, John tells us of four beasts representing the earth standing at the throne of God. In Revelation 12, a ten-horned dragon attacks the woman (Israel), and in Revelation 13 the dragon call another beast out of the sea, followed by one from the land. Which beasts does this passage in Daniel make you think of? 2.        Read Daniel 7:23-25 The rest of Daniel 7 gives us an angel’s interpretation of Dani

We've been studying Revelation in our Bible Study Group, and I compiled this study for next to the final week, to look at where some of those Old Testament quotes came from. Revelation, Ezekiel and Daniel are often described as “apocalyptic literature”—i.e. books that disclose or uncover hidden truths, generally characterized by the use of symbols. We’ll look at Daniel (and some other books) next week. This week we’re going to take a lightning tour of Ezekiel. There are lots of non-Biblical and non-Jewish apocalypses. Three common themes are 1.       A general feeling of pessimism about the present day world 2.       Belief in some kind of divine intervention 3.       The use of symbols, the uncovering of hidden meanings. How do you think these themes relate to our lives and our world? How do you think a desire for power and control affects our understanding of symbols? Do you think modern science helps or hinders us in understanding symbols? Ezekiel and